It's all alright in Oz
by dragonheartt
Summary: Au/x-over with wizard of oz, though deviates wildly from that. After certain events in her past and after Cutter's death follows Stephen's so closely, Abby is left with more 'walls' than a walled city. An explosion in the ARC leads to Abby waking up in a strange land... with some familiar faces.
1. Chapter 1: Explosions

AN: AU!fic. Set in S3 after Cutter's death and after Jenny leaves and Danny becomes team leader. In this Au, Abby's brother died when she was 14, and along with all of the other abby!headcanon stuff that crosses most people's minds as far as I know (abuse, etc), this led to au!abby being even more closed to others than regular abby is; au!abby has even more walls and ... issues. au!Abby's been so hurt by those she cares about that she won't let anyone close, won't even let herself care about the team as the family they are. And this au is also sort of... almost... an x-over with the Wizard of Oz, though it deviates wildly.

An2: I love Abby. However, my wizard of oz - themed au/xover would only work if i made her character flaws worse at the start of this. Just don't think I dislike her or anything ^^' *cuddles her*

* * *

"This is not my home, and you aren't my family, okay?!" All of the anger and the hurt had built up and she'd just kept repressing it, and now it burst from her in sharp words that she regretted the moment she saw the pain in Connor's eyes, and the shock and hurt on everyone else's, too.

They weren't completely false: something inside her told her if she let them close, it would only hurt worse; she had to be independant of anyone else, otherwise she would be weak. But still…

"Conn, I…"

Before she could even think to apologize or try to explain, his expression blanked, and it seemed like a switch had turned off as Connor turned away.

Then, suddenly, an explosion racked the ARC, and then everything was fire and smoke and confusion and pain and the world felt like it was spinning. Abby blacked out.

* * *

She woke up, blinking her eyes open to see a scene that reminded her a bit of the green grassy fields of the spaghetti junction, the one time they'd seen it. There was an anomaly spinning harmlessly several feet away, and she was alone. Or was she? Abby was sure she'd just heard whispering, and the tinkle of high pitched laughter.

"Hello?"

She was answered by giggles and someone hushing the other voices.

"Where am I?"

Behind her, someone cleared their throat, and she whipped around to see a very familiar-looking blonde-haired man smiling at her.

"Cutter?!"

"Hello Abby." The heretoforedeadProfessor said, his scottish accent as thick as ever, and he looked as healthy as he had the morning before his death three weeks ago.

"How?" She asked, looking at Cutter, incredulity written plain on her face.

"Ah, well, I'm nah, quite sure on th' details m'self."

"You're dead."

"Am I?"

"This must be a dream… there was an explosion…"

"I don't know if it is a dream or nah, but yah've gotta get home somehow. Your friends'll be missin' you either way." Cutter suggested, and Abby felt her cheeks flush as her words from before the explosion repeated themselves in her mind.

"Well, I'll have to wake up, or get back to my time." She paused. "Should I go through that anomaly?" Abby turned to face the swirling shards of time and space.

"Ah think it's as good a place ta start as any. But don't wander off the path." Cutter said, his voice sounding fainter now.

"What path?" When she turned to look, the Professor was gone, and there were thousands of miniature bubbles floating up into the clear blue sky. "Cutter?" No luck. The whispers and giggles were back, and now that she looked carefully, there was a path to the anomaly, lined with tiny yellow buttercups along either side.

"_Follow the yellow brick road._" Abby muttered under her breath as she started walking, reminded of nothing so much as the film she had watched all but once, before Jack had died, when she was 13. Regardless, there was nothing else she could do, and sitting here doing nothing didn't really suit Abby very much at all.

* * *

TBC: And i know i keep promising to finish stories and i always have a billion au ideas buzzing around my brain and finishing them is a whole 'nother story but i will eventually finish those and I'll finish this one too! :D So… yeah. Pinky promise.


	2. Chapter 2 : Familiar faces

AN: Say hi to some more familiar faces!... most of whom won't inpact the plot very much beyond this chapter. *le shrug* Hope you enjoy!

Sorry if it's a bit short...

* * *

Abby had second thoughts the moment before she stepped through the spinning shards of the anomaly, but she quelled them, determined to keep moving forwards, not backwards.

She emerged into a sort of garden, dozens of flowers and plants growing all around, though the only yellow flowers in the whole place were the ones marking her path. Abby raised an eyebrow, but after a cursory look around, she shrugged and continued walking. More whispering followed her, and Abby stopped, facing the row of tulips and roses with a suspicious expression on her face.

"I don't have time for this," well, technically she did, but that was irrelevant, "so whoever's there, come on out."

Not a single response, and Abby scowled and then turned away with an exasperated huff.

"Suit yourselves." She muttered, then stopped when she found a familiarly-shaped object lying in the middle of the path. "The artefact?!" What the hell was that doing in her dream? Looking around warily, Abby crouched down and picked up the artefact, gripping it firmly in her hand.

"Maybe you're supposed to bring it with you." Abby turned around quickly to see Jenny Lewis, smiling warmly at her.

"How did you get here, Jenny?"

"I'm not quite sure. One moment I was in a meeting, and the next…"

"Did you see Cutter too?" Abby couldn't help asking, though mostly the question was to cover the urge to hug Jenny. She'd barely resisted hugging Cutter before. Jenny's eyes widened.

"Abby, Nick's dead."

"Yeah, I know, but this… I'm pretty sure it's all a dream. Anything can happen!" Abby said, grinning a little. Jenny chuckled.

"Alright. Here, hold on a moment." Abby furrowed a brow in confusion when Jenny suddenly stepped off of the path and slipped between several of the tall plants. After a moment, a familiar face, and a not so familiar one, followed Jenny out onto Abby's buttercup-flower path.

One of them was Stephen Hart, and Abby gaped in shock, before she was able to force her gaze away from his face and take notice of the girl, who looked to be about 17 or so, standing beside him.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Jessica Parker. Who're you?"

"Abby Maitland." She muttered in response, feelign somewhat dazed, gaze flicking between the three of them. "Anyone care to explain? This has to be a dream, but what does the girl have to do with you two, or me?"

"Not right now, not really. But give her a year or two." Stephen said, smirking a little. "And this is a dream, it's just that you're not the only one having it."

"But you're dead." Jenny said cautiously, as if she hadn't been the one to vanish and then reappear with these two following her. Stephen nodded.

"And as I knew all three of you, I'm a part of the dream world."

"This is getting really confusing." Abby admitted, fingers tightening slightly on the artefact she held. Jessica nodded, then shrugged.

"I don't know why I'm here, except maybe to welcome you? So, welcome! Now please, Stephen, can we go look for the dafodils? I heard from the little ones that there's treasure hidden!" Jess said, pulling Stephen's hand.

Suddenly, lightning struck the path in front of them, out of no where. They all screamed, Jenny and Stephen pulling Abby and Jessica back. The space in front of them had fillwed with smoke, and electricity sparked within the cloud. Abby squinted as she moved Jessica behind her.

Out of the smoke strode none other than Helen Cutter, looking particularly murderous.

"Which one of you stole my Artefact?"

* * *

AN: hehe Helen's the wicked witch! And I guess the artefact is the equivalent of the ruby slippers, eh? ^_^'


	3. Chapter 3: Wicked witch of the ARC

AN: This chapter: Helen barely skirts around sounding like the wicked witch of the west, and a certain two individuals kiss. ;3

* * *

"Helen." Stephen said, tone completely flat. Abby chanced a glance at him before glaring at Helen.

"Misplaced it, have you?" Jessica spoke up, peeking out from behind Abby. Helen raised an eyebrow at the girl, who held her ground. "We didn't steal anything." She added. Abby surreptitiously shifted the artefact in her hand so that it was more hidden from Helen's view. Despite that, the older woman's keen eyes zeroed in on Abby, and Helen smirked,ignoring Jessica, Jenny, and Stephen.

"You have something of mine, barbie. Hand it over, and no one has to get hurt." She said mildly, the fire in her eyes the only sign that she was in fact completely off her rocker.

Abby laughed, tucking the artefact under her arm and crossing her arms, eyes narrowed.

"I'm not an idiot, as much as you seem to think so. The artefact is ours." She drawled nonchalantly.

"I don't doubt your intelligence," though her tone belied the words, "I just thought that maybe you'd prefer if your friends lived," as she spoke, a gun appeared in Helen's hand, and she aimed it at Jessica and Jenny. Abby had moved towards Helen before, leaving them wide open. Abby felt her stomach sink.

"Helen, this is neutral ground. If yah pull that trigger, who knows what will happen? Ah think it's very likely tha' you'll die as well." Abby felt the tension leave her body for a single moment as Cutter's familiar voice sounded from behind the group, and though she didn't take her eyes off of Helen, she knew that he was approaching.

"Nick." Helen glared at Abby, before she glanced at Nick again. "You're very lucky I'm not willing to risk the consequences, otherwise..." Helen left the threat hanging, before she smiled at Abby. The expression had all the physical qualities of a smile, but it was anger, not humor, behind the curve of her lips. "Just wait. You can't stay here forever, not if you want to go back," Abby noticed that Helen didn't say 'home' either, and felt a shiver. Was she like Helen? "And when you do..." Abby leapt back as Helen, turning on her heel, vanished into a burst of the dark clouds, and the air crackled with electricity.

Abby turned to Cutter.

"I was worried she was going to say, 'I'll get you my pretty'." She admitted. Jenny snorted, and the others laughed. Abby couldn't hel pthe corner of her motuh tugging up into a smile.

"What are we going to do?" Jenny asked, frowning. Cutter smiled at her, a little sadly.

"You and Jessica will wake up soon enough, ah think. But Abby'll have to get thah artefact ta safety bafore she can leave."

"What? Why?! Couldn't you or Stephen take it?" Stephen shook his head.

"Unfortunately not. I don't know why I know it, but neither of us can touch it. Maybe because we're dead in your world." Abby sighed.

"Why can't we go with her?" Jessica piped up.

"Because it isn't your journey." Cutter said enigmatically, before he turned to Jenny, who was still staring at him, eyes wide. "Jenny, you can wake up now, go back. You should move on, you have a life to live." He said softly. Jenny managed a small smile.

"I know. I'll miss you. Goodbye, Nick." She moved closer, and kissed him gently on the lips, before she faded away.

Abby turned to look at the path, bordered by the buttercups, and took a deep breath.

* * *

TBC: We might meet the Scarecrow soon... any guesses on who he is in this? :D


	4. Chapter 4: Dreamworld Isn't exactly Oz

AN: Okay, I decided to post this bit and then get to meeting Scarecrow. :3 Promise the next chapter'll be more exciting ^^' Hope you enjoy :3 And thanks for all the reviews! :D I'm not revealing Scarecrow yet though.

* * *

"I dinnae expect tha'." Cutter said, and when Abby looked at him, she couldn't help but smile at the stunned look on his face at Jenny's kiss. Stephen was smiling warmly as well, and when he met Abby's gaze, she forced the smile to leave her face, biting her lip in thought as she shifted the artefact. She didn't need to remind Cutter that Jenny loved him, that was mean, as he was dead and she would have to move on... and she shouldn't care so much any way. She shouldn't have let Cutter so close to her own heart, nor Stephen. Their deaths had hurt, and she couldn't let that happen again.

"Right, well, what now?" Abby asked Cutter.

"I'd hazard a guess that you should go on your way, because the little ones are waking up and they'll not want you to leave once they find you here. Last time, Jessica here overslept because of them." Stephen said, when Cutter seemed to need a moment.

Jessica nodded.

"They mean well, but they don't really like to say 'bye." The girl said, smiling. "And I guess I'll have to look for treasure another day." She paused, then added, "watch out for the Lion. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too..." What lion? Was that a warning or a suggestion? And who were the 'little ones'? Abby was n't sure she was going to get any answers right now.

"Good bye Jessica." Stephen said softly, and Abby failed to rein in her curiosity about how they knew each other from before Stephen's death. Cutter finally shook himself out of his daze as Jessica faded, waving at them.

"Abby?" She raised her eyebrows at Cutter. "Stephen 'n I cannae go with yah." He told her, glancing at the younger man, who nodded.

"But if you need our help, trust me, we'll be there." Stephen added, eyes on Cutter. Abby fought down another smile.

"Right. So I've got to follow this path and get h- get to..." She paused. "Where exactly am I going?"

"You know." Stephen offered, grinning.

"This isn't 'Oz', guys." Abby said slowly. Both men shrugged.

"It may as well be. Dreamscape's not 'Emerald City', but we do have our own Wizard, so to speak." Abby rolled her eyes at that.

"So I'm going to Dreamscape to give the Artefact to this 'wizard', and he'll tell me how to wake up? And I have to avoid Helen on the way?" She wasn't sure whether to be amused to skeptical at this point, but decided to just go with it.

Cutter nodded.

"Off yah go now."

"Alright, alright."

"And stay on the path!"

* * *

TBC


End file.
